The Maya Codex Read Free Page A

stubby.’
    ‘Exactly 33.98 centimetres high and 21 centimetres wide,’ Levi agreed, ‘but I think these dimensions are no accident. If you divide 33.98 by 21, you get 1.618.’
    Ramona smiled as she raised her eyebrows.
    ‘Which is the value of Φ, the Greek letter phi, or the “golden mean”. It comes from the Fibonacci sequence, which is at the core of the natural world —’
    Ramona held up her hand, just as Levi was getting into stride. ‘And I’m sure good old Fibonacci won’t mind if you take a break to eat.’
    Levi gave his wife a hug. ‘You do ground me.’
    ‘Someone has to. Come on. The children are famished and so am I.’
    Levi reluctantly turned out the light and followed his wife out of the study.
    ‘ Ow! Stop it!’ Rebekkah said, pushing her brother away. ‘Mama, Ariel’s hitting me with a cushion!’
    ‘That’s enough you two. Go and wash your hands; dinner’s nearly ready.’
    The two silver candles represented God’s commandments, and Ramona positioned them both on the simple white tablecloth. She placed a covered loaf of braided challah bread alongside a silver six-pointed Star of David. Once they were all seated, Levi intoned the blessing in Hebrew:
Barukh atah Adonai Elohaynu melekh ha-olam
Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the Universe
Ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz. Amein
Who brings forth bread from the earth. Amen.
    Levi poured one of Ramona’s favourite Austrian white wines, a grüner veltliner, and raised his glass. ‘ Prost, meine Liebling . Good health.’
    ‘ Prost ,’ Ramona replied, giving her husband a loving look. ‘Here’s to cracking the code of your figurine. What do you think it means?’
    ‘I suspect the Maya were trying to leave us a message. At the time that figurine was made, over a thousand years ago, the Mayan civilisation was thriving. Its pyramids and temples stretched from the Yucatán Peninsula in what is now Mexico to the jungles of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. But less than fifty years later, the entire civilisation just disappeared, leaving its city-states and pyramids to the ravages of the jungle.’
    ‘Do we know why?’
    ‘There are theories, ranging from a catastrophic viral haemorrhagic fever to a meteorite, but none of the evidence stacks up. A lot of us suspect that the warring between city-states, coupled with deforestation, did so much damage to the environment that the Maya were no longer able to grow the crops they needed to survive. Whatever the cause, it remains one of the great mysteries of the ancient world. Do you remember that Mayan elder I got to know the last time I was in Guatemala?’
    ‘The one from Lake Atitlán? Roberto?’
    ‘Roberto Arana. He told me it’s a great honour to have found the figurine, although he urged me to keep it quiet. The figurine’s existence is a closely guarded secret, known only to the elders. But he also told me there are two more, each with a crystal embedded in the crown. The one I have is ah-ton , or male, but neutral and female ones are still to be found.’
    ‘Any idea where they might be?’
    Levi smiled ruefully. ‘If only … I asked Roberto, of course, but he was very cryptic. He said, “The remaining two will not be found until they’re meant to be found.” A divine timing, if you like.’ Levi glanced at the children and decided against revealing all the details of his conversation with the Mayan shaman. ‘He also said the figurines will lead the way towards a very important secret codex – the Maya Codex – but whoever searches for the codex will need all three of the figurines to find it.’
    ‘What’s a codex, Papa?’ eight-year-old Rebekkah asked, her soft blonde curls shining in the candlelight.
    ‘A codex is a very old book, sweetheart, made out of bark, and it folds out like a concertina.’
    ‘Funny stuff to make a book out of,’ Ariel declared. Tall for his ten years, and already a brilliant student, Ariel had inherited his mother’s dark curly